The Atlantic’s Goldberg Defends Trump Piece — ‘Extensively Sourced and Entirely Accurate’

Editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine, Jeffrey Goldberg, defended his article claiming President Donald Trump said Americans who died in war were “losers” and “suckers” Friday on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports.”

President Donald Trump denied the story saying, “It’s a fake story, and it’s a disgrace they’re allowed to do it.”

Goldberg said, “It is not fake, it is real. This story is extensively sourced and entirely accurate. That’s all I can say. This is not the first time, of course — certainly not the first time today that the president has cast aspersions on journalism that doesn’t reflect well on him. So his reaction is completely predictable.”

He added, “You’re right, it’s very vigorous, and I think that these vigorous denials are motivated by a realization —I think you were talking about this earlier in your show— a realization that these kinds of comments that he’s made really don’t reflect well on him among a certain kind of voter he actually needs very much in a couple of months. So I think that’s a little bit of the energy there, is from that realization.”

Mitchell said, “I want to give you a chance to respond also to John Bolton, who has said now that he was in the meeting in France, in the morning meeting discussing going to the American cemetery and had not heard any of the disparaging comments that you have reported.”

Goldberg said, “Right. I have very, very good sources. There were more than one meeting and many discussions during that period. I am completely confident that Donald Trump said those exact words.”

Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN

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